Lost and Found
by desertredwolf
Summary: Tonks goes on an expedition into the Amazon with Charlie, but quickly gets lost. She ends up getting help from an unlikely source. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All rights go to respective owners.**

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Prompt ( _The Grand Battle — Diagon Alley II_ ): Write about a known Hufflepuff character.

Additional prompts used:

-Dialogue prompts: "Why does everyone think I'd be good at Herbology? I hate plants; they're so… green." [5 points] and "I bags the beanbag!" / "Erm… should we tell him/her that that's not a beanbag?" / "They'll find out soon enough." [4 points]

-Word prompts: United, Vine, Peculiar, and Experiment [total of 4 points]

-Spell prompts: Partis Temporus [6 points]; Ventus [5 points]; Periculum [4 points]

 **Word count (not including title or author's notes): 1805**

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 **Lost and Found**

"What's that Charlie? _Of course_ , I would love to go on a field expedition to South America with you! You mean there will be dangerous animals _and_ plants? Oh, those are my absolute _favorite_! Will there be any— _ouch_! Oh, for the love of _Merlin_!"

Nymphadora "Call-Me-That-And-I'll-Cut-You" Tonks slowly picked herself up from the dense rainforest floor. Glaring down next to her feet, she contemplated casting a few choice spells at the offending vine that had tripped her.

Not that she normally needed any help in falling down — she was remarkably clumsy for an Auror — but it just seemed that every plant in the entire rainforest had united together in an effort to trip her. Sighing, she brushed the dirt off her pants.

"Oh, _sure_. You look so innocent _now_ ," she said mockingly to the plant. "But I know your evil plans."

When the plant didn't respond, she tried a different approach.

"Could you maybe be helpful and tell me how to find my friend?"

At the answering silence, Tonks shook her head and continued to make her way through the brush.

"You're talking to plants now, Tonks. _Plants_."

For the next twenty minutes, she pushed and tripped her way through the forest, until she suddenly broke through the trees and stepped onto a sandy riverbank. The river was not too wide, maybe 25 meters across, and surprisingly still.

Charlie —before they had been separated by a horde of angry Amazonian Greenfangs (emerald green dragons the size of ponies) — had told her that if she got lost, she was to find a river and wait for help.

" _The rainforest is dangerous," he had said. "Even without taking into account the magical creatures and plants. Find water and send up sparks. I'll find you; it's what I do."_

She hadn't liked the idea of playing damsel in distress — she vividly remembered telling Charlie that she was more than capable of taking care of herself — but after spending the last hour alone in the rainforest, she now understood. Listening to the call of birds and hum of insects had lulled her into a false sense of security and had made her think she was not alone, when she desperately was in reality.

Standing on the calm riverbank suddenly put everything in perspective. She was by herself, in the largest rainforest in the world, where there were literally tens of _thousands_ of rivers and tributaries. She didn't know where to apparate to and the closest village was probably hundreds of miles away…

Swallowing back the rising panic, Tonks let her Auror training take over and allowed herself three deep breaths.

Her racing heart slowed. Raising her wand, she spoke in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Periculum."

A bolt of red light shot out of her wand and spiraled into the blue sky. She watched it fizzle out before pointing her wand toward the ground. Briefly closing her eyes, she thought of red hair, the brilliant sun, and warm kisses…

"Expecto Patronum."

Liquid silver poured out of her wand, before settling into a corporeal form.

"Charlie," she said to the shimmering chameleon, "I'm by a river. I know that doesn't help much since I don't know _which_ one, but I'm by a river. Since we never made it to base camp, I don't know where to apparate. I'll send up red sparks every fifteen minutes."

Watching the Patronus dart off into the trees, she knew it was time to get to work. Since she didn't know where Charlie was, or if he was even okay, she knew rescue could be a while. She needed shelter, a fire, drinkable water, and, hopefully, a bed.

"Okay, Tonks, you got this," she said to herself. And for the first time since seeing Charlie earlier that day, she grinned.

With magic, setting up a shelter didn't take too long. Tonks had to experiment with the spells and layout a bit. But less than an hour later, she had a respectable shelter and fire pit.

"Animals," she had taken to muttering to herself again while she had worked, "I can handle. But plants? Why does everyone think I'd be good at Herbology? I hate plants; they're so… _green_! I swear, I don't even go _near_ them and they are still out to get me…"

Grumbling, she paced by the edge of the water, pulling stray leaves and twigs out of her hair. The sun was quickly setting on the horizon; it would be time to get inside her little hut soon.

 _Should I start a fire and leave it going through the night?_ she wondered. _Or will that attract animals?_

Resolving to ask Charlie the next time she saw him, she checked her watch and saw that it was time to send up another signal.

"Periculum."

" _Ventus!_ "

Time seemed to slow down as multiple things happened simultaneously. Tonks yelped, as a violent gust of wind knocked her back five feet. In that same moment, a black shape erupted from the water, right next to where Tonks had been standing. Half a heartbeat later, there was a crack of apparition and a young woman materialized in front of Tonks.

The mystery woman shouted something in another language — _Portuguese_? Tonks hazily wondered — as orange spell fire erupted from her wand and hit the creature. The beast snarled and hastily splashed back into the water, disappearing beneath the surface.

The fight was over before it began.

The woman turned around, seemingly positive that the creature wouldn't return, and reached a hand down to Tonks. Shakily, Tonks accepted the help back onto her feet.

"What _was_ that thing?" she sputtered in shock.

"A caiman," the woman replied. "Are you okay? I'm really sorry about knocking you back, but I saw you from across the river and I noticed the caiman in the water; it was the first thing I thought of. You are okay, right?"

Tonks nodded slowly.

"You saved my life. Thank you," Tonks said. A thought suddenly hit her and she peered down at the young woman. "I wasn't expecting to see anyone else, except for my friend. What are you doing out here?"

The young witch grinned.

"I'm out here looking for you, obviously," she replied, her carefree attitude making her eyes light up. "My name is Ellie. You're Nymphadora, right?"

Tonks glared. "It's just Tonks," she replied tightly.

Ellie laughed lightly, only deepening Tonks' irritation. "Yeah, Charlie said you'd say that."

At the mention of Charlie, Tonks' ire disappeared instantaneously.

"You've seen Charlie? Is he okay? I sent a Patronus, but never got a response. Where is he?"

"Whoa, there," Ellie said, raising her hands, "one question at a time! Yes, I've seen Charlie. He's being treated for burns and dehydration. Although, we did have to give him some Dreamless Sleep potion. He wasn't making too much sense and had a ridiculous notion that he was well enough to be traipsing around the forest, in search of you. And he's currently at the hospital wing in Castelobruxo."

"Castelobruxo?" Tonks repeated.

"Castelobruxo," Ellie repeated with a grin. "The coolest magical school around. I can take you there, if you're okay with sidelong apparition?"

"Yeah, but…should I take this down or…" Tonks trailed off, looking back at the shelter she had built.

"Nah," Ellie shook her head. "We can leave it as an outpost. I know some of the students would love to stay here when studying the animals of the forest."

"If you say so," Tonks said as she shrugged.

Accepting Ellie's offered hand, Tonks felt the familiar twist of apparition. One moment, she was on the riverbank; the next, she was in front of a thick wall of plants.

Tonks glanced questioningly at Ellie, who shrugged in response.

"You can't apparate directly onto Castelobruxo grounds."

Tonks watched as Ellie pointed her wand directly at the wall of leaves and vines and said, in a clear voice,

"Partis Temporus."

The barrier of plants and vines convulsed, bending and winding around into the shape of a tunnel. Tonks felt her mouth drop open and she followed her peculiar new friend into the most beautiful place she had even seen.

Raising up in the middle of the jungle was a golden temple, surrounded by smaller structures made of the same material. Crystal clear streams ran through the grounds and the air felt charged with magic. There were Caipora — Tonks recognized them from Charlie's descriptions — running across the grounds and Tonks suddenly realized that Ellie was speaking to her.

"— but Castelobruxo is best known for its Magizoology and Herbology programs," Ellie explained. "The magic you probably feel in the air is due to Headmistress Nora. She's especially gifted in nature magic. Anyway, the hospital wing is in here. Follow me."

Tonks followed her into the main building. A few students stared curiously as the two witches passed.

"Where is everyone?" Tonks asked.

"It's study time, so most everyone is with their Houses or friends in the dining hall. Some of the more adventurous students spend most of their time in the rainforest, so they're not often here," Ellie replied casually. "And … here we are!"

Tonks trailed behind Ellie as they walked through an open doorway and into a sunlit room. White hospital beds lined the walls; all of them empty, except one.

"Charlie!"

Tonks ran across the room and anxiously stood next to Charlie. Reaching down, she gently held his hand. He stirred slightly, but remained asleep.

"Is he okay?"

"He's going to be fine, Ms. Tonks," a cheery voice responded.

Looking up, Tonks saw a woman — maybe in her late fifties — walking up to her. The woman was poised, her eyes filled with compassion. "He will, of course, need to stay overnight. You are more than welcome to stay with him."

Tonks blushed slightly. "Thank you …?" she trailed off.

"Headmistress Nora," the woman responded, offering her hand to Tonks.

"Thank you, Headmistress," Tonks responded, shaking the proffered hand. "And I will gladly accept that offer."

"Excellent," the Headmistress said. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't— Oh!" Tonks suddenly shouted, jumping up and down. "I bags the beanbag!"

Tonks darted off and was unable to hear Ellie murmur to the Headmistress, "Erm … should we tell her that that's not a beanbag?"

"She'll find out soon enough," the Headmistress replied, a twinkle in her eye.

A shriek echoed throughout the hospital wing as Tonks fell off what was not actually a beanbag, but a giant puffskein.

Tonks could feel her cheeks flush in embarrassment; her hair quickly turned a deep red.

"You can _never_ tell Charlie I did that," Tonks growled, glaring at the two witches in front of her.

The glare lasted all of three seconds before the three witches burst into laughter — a happy ending to a very trying day.


End file.
